Gftc  Maine  Ml 

Entered  at  the   Post  Office  at  Orono  as  second  class  matter 
Published  monthly  during  the  academic  year  [) 

Vol.  XX  University  of  Maine,  Orono,  Maine,  December,  1917  No.  4 


IN  MEMORY  OF 


Librarian  Ralph  Kneeland  Jones 


And 


Professor  Andrew  Paul  Raggio 


PRINTED    AT 

THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS 

0R0N0,    MAINE 


FROM  THE  MINUTES  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Meeting  of  June  11,  1917 

Ralph  Kneeland  Jones,  Librarian  of  the  University  for  the  last  twenty 
years,  passed  away  at  Wellesley  Hills,  Mass.,  June  9. 

Mr.  Jones  rendered  to  the  University  an  unusual  service.  He  was 
faithful,  loyal,  and  efficient.  He  did  more  than  any  other  man  connected 
with  the  institution  to  keep  the  University  and  the  alumni  in  close  touch. 

We,  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  take  this  opportunity 
to  place  upon  the  records  of  the  Board  our  high  appreciation  of  his 
service  to  the  institution,  of  his  loyalty  to  all  her  interests,  and  of  his 
untiring  efforts  in  promoting  her  welfare. 

Meeting  of  January  17,  1918 

Dr.  Andrew  Paul  Raggio,  Professor  of  Spanish  and  Italian,  died 
December  21.  He  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  University  of  Maine 
as  Instructor,  Assistant  Professor,  Associate  Professor,  and  Professor 
since  1907. 

By  his  death,  the  University  loses  a  great  scholar,  an  enthusiastic 
and  successful  teacher,  and  a  likeable  and  companionable  man.  The 
institution  has  profited  much  by  his  loyal  and  devoted  service.  He  will 
be  greatly  missed  by  students,  alumni,  and  faculty.  In  grateful  remem- 
brance of  his  worth  and  service,  this  testimonial  is  placed  upon  the 
records  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Maine. 

FROM  THE  MINUTES  OF  THE  FACULTY 
Meeting  of  June  9,  1917 

"Ralph  Kneeland  Jones  graduated  from  the  Maine  State  College  in 
the  class  of  1886.  He  was  made  librarian  in  1897  and  served  the  insti- 
tution in  this  capacity  until  the  time  of  his  death,  June  9,  1917.  The 
University  has  had  no  more  loyal  alumnus  than  M.  Jones  and  the  faculty 
no  more  enthusiastic  or  untiring  worker. 

His  colleagues  wish  at  this  time  to  express  the  high  regard  in  which 
Mr.  Jones  was  held  and  place  upon  the  faculty  records  this  appreciation 
of  his  services. 

Meeting  of  December  10,  1917 

Andrew  Paul  Raggio  came  to  the  University  of  Maine  in  1907.  He 
served  in  turn  as  Instructor,  Assistant  Professor,  and  Associate  Professor 


in  the  department  of  Romance  Languages,  and  was  in  June,  1916,  placed 
in  charge  of  the  newly  created  department  of  Spanish  and  Italian.  Pro- 
fessor Raggio  came  to  us  well  prepared  for  his  work  as  a  teacher  by- 
many  years  of  American  and  European  training.  His  colleagues  will 
remember  him  as  a  man  of  high  scholastic  ideals  both  in  the  class  room 
and  in  his  general  relations  to  the  University.  Professor  Raggio  was 
ambitious  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term.  He  labored  unceasingly  for  his 
department  and  carried  its  burdens  with  him  to  the  last  hours  of  his  life. 
The  members  of  the  faculty  wish  to  put  upon  record  their  apprecia- 
tion of  Professor  Raggio  as  a  man  and  a  teacher,  and  to  extend  to  those 
who  are  more  closely  related  to  him  sympathy  in  their  bereavement. 

James  S.  Stevens 

Charles    D.    Woods 

Windsor  P.  Daggett 

COMMITTEE  ON  MEMORIAL  EXERCISES 

The  President  appointed  the  following  persons  to  prepare  a  program 
for  the  memorial  exercises : 

Dean  J.  S.  Stevens 
Director  C.  D.  Woods 
Professor  W.   P.   Daggett 

PROGRAM 

January  17,  1918  at  10:30  A.  M. 

DOXOLOGY 

Remarks  President  Robert  J.  Aley 

Ralph  Kneeland  Jones  Charles  S.  Bickford  '82 

Ralph  K.  Jones  as  Librarian  Charles  A.  Flagg 

Professor  A.  P.  Raggio  George  D.  Chase 
Singing — Abide  With  Me 

RALPH   KNEELAND   JONES 

BY 

^  Charles  S.  Bickford  '82 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 

To   the   alumnus,   to    the    non-graduate    former    student,    to    the   pro- 

Sf    fessor,    to   any   one   who   has    been    in    the    least   acquainted    with   affairs 

*     here   for   the   last   quarter   of   a  century,  any   enumeration   of   the   labors 

4*.  of   Ralph  Jones   in   connection   with   the   University  of   Maine  will   seem 

^     superfluous,    for    he    occupied   a    position    at    once    so    important    and    so 

unique  that   it  will  never  be  filled  by  any  one  man.     In   these   days   of 

glittering  performance,  however,   it  is  well  to  pause  in   our  daily  labors 

and  consider  a  less  spectacular  and  more  extended  service.     It  is  well, 


too,  that  the  lessons  of  this  life  should  be  made  matters  of  formal 
record  for  we  are  prone  to  allow  too  many  events  to  become  matters 
of  tradition  rather  than  of  history ;  and  this  life  is  worthy  our  thought- 
ful consideration. 

When  hearts  whose  worth  are  proven, 

Like  his,  are  laid  in  earth, 

There  should  a  wreath  be  woven 

To  tell  the  world  their  worth. 

Ralph  Kneeland  Jones  Jr.,  was  born  in  Bangor,  Me.,  8  August, 
1866,  the  son  of  Dr.  Ralph  Kneeland  and  Octavia  Norris  Jones.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Bangor,  entered  Maine  State  Col- 
lege in  the  fall  of  1883,  graduating  in  class  of  1886,  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  from  the  course  in  chemistry.  His  standing  entitled 
him  to  membership  in  Phi  Kappa  Phi.  He  was  student  assistant  in  the 
library  for  two  years,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  year  book  for  two  years, 
a  founder  and  an  editor  of  the  Campus.  After  graduation,  he  was  for 
four  years  in  the  iron  tube  business  in  Ohio.  While  there  he  became 
captain  in  the  Ohio  National  Guard.  Later  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
Theodore  Metcalf  Co.,  manufacturing  chemists  in  Boston.  In  1897,  he 
was  elected  librarian  at  University  of  Maine  and  attended  the  library 
school  at  Amherst  College.  From  1898  to  1916,  he  was  Alumni  Secre- 
tary. 29  August,  1900,  he  married  Grace  Alexander  Mutell,  who  survives. 
From  1908  to  1916  he  was  ex-officio  member  of  the  Alumni  Advisory 
Council,  member  of  the  American  Library  Association,  member  of  the 
American  Bibliographical  Association,  member  of  the  Maine  Library 
Association  (president  and  secretary),  and  other  professional  associa- 
tions. He  was  a  member  of  Beta  Theta  Pi  and  the  Masonic  fraternity; 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  attended  the  Universalist  Church.  9  Jun°, 
1917,  he  died  at  Wellesley  Hills,  Mass. 

Such,  my  friends,  is  what  the  records  show  of  one  whom  we  have 
met  here  today  to  commemorate ;  that  is  the  bare  skeleton  around  which 
are  to  be  entwined  all  those  attributes  that  went  to  make  up  the  person- 
ality we  depended  upon,  respected,  admired,  and  loved. 

We  are  told  "greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends"  and  Ralph  Jones  may  be  truly  said  to 
have  laid  down  his  life  for  "Maine"  as  his  labors  were  unceasing  in 
semester  and  during  vacation ;  if,  indeed,  he  can  be  said  to  have  had 
any  vacation.  His  first  thought  was  for  "Maine"  and  his  every  effort 
was  in  her  behalf. 

He  may  not  have  been  a  genius  ;  he  was  something  higher  and  better 
than  that.  He  was  one  of  those  men  so  well  described  by  President 
Taft  as  "a  well-rounded  man  who  worked  goodness  in  the  world  through 
high  ideals,  tenacity  of  purpose,  self-effacement,  and  simplicity." 

He  was  the  living  embodiment  of  all  that  goes  to  make  up  what 
it  pleases  me  to  regard  as  the  Maine  Spirit;  just  think  how  fully  he 
possessed  those  attributes :  morality,  mentality,  mutuality,  loyalty,  labor, 
accomplishment. 


Absolutely  unassuming,  I  never  knew  him  during  our  long  friend- 
ship to  claim  for  himself  any  credit  for  work  done ;  his  constant  cry 
was  that  he  had  accomplished  so  little,  that  another  might  have  done  so 
much  more.  At  each  recurring  election  of  Alumni  Secretary,  there  was 
a  long  struggle  to  induce  him  to  accept  the  position  because  he  felt  that 
another  would  be  more  successful.  When  he  told  me,  not  a  year  before 
he  left  us,  of  the  death  sentence  that  had  been  pronouncd  upon  him  it 
was  with  an  expression  of  sincere  belief  that  the  change  in  the  office  would 
make  for  efficiency.  Tenacious  of  the  opinions  that  he  formed  after 
mature  deliberation,  he  was  broadly  tolerant  of  differences  except  where 
they  involved  what  seemed  to  him  dereliction  of  duty.  Thorough  and 
indefatigable  in  his  own  work,  he  had  but  the  utmost  contempt  for  a 
shirker.  While  recognizing  that  equal  heights  were  not  attainable  by 
all.  he  had  but  scanty  patience  with  those  whose  work  did  not  measure 
fully  up  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability.  If  I  could  have  but  one  word 
with  which  to  summarize  his  character  it  would  be  the  word  "thorough." 

As  a  visible  symbol  of  appreciation  of  his  labors,  the  trustees  of 
the  University  are  causing  to  be  affixed  to  the  wall  of  the  Library,  the 
scene  of  his  labors,  a  bronze  tablet  bearing  the  inscription 

THIS  TABLET   IS   DEDICATED  BY  THE 

TRUSTEES    OF    THIS    INSTITUTION 

IN     MEMORY    OF 

RALPH     KXEELAND     JONES 

CLASS    OF     1886 

LIBRARIAN 

1897  1917 

A  man  whose  loyal  service  to 
the  University  of  Maine  was  in- 
spired by  his  pride  in  her  past 
and   faith  in  her  future 

He  was  the  depositary  of  a  wealth  of  material,  so  dear  to  every 
college  man,  concerning  "Maine"  which  was  instantly  forthcoming 
whenever  it  was  wanted  but  which  I  fear  is  now  lost  to  us  forever. 
Wherever  "Maine"  men  were  gathered  if  there  was  any  information 
wanted,  the  cry  was  "Ask  Jones !  where  is  Ralph  ?"  As  one  of  his 
colleagues  aptly  expressed  it,  he  was  the  hyphen  that  connected  the 
Maine-that-was    with    the    Maine-that-is. 

He  was  of  inestimable  service  to  "Maine"  because  of  his  connection 
with  athletics  in  what  may  be  called  our  formative  period,  when  every 
act  was  creating  a  precedent  which  would  blaze  the  way  for  future  col- 
lege generations.  For  years  he  served  on  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Athletic  Association,  where  his  intolerance  for  less  than  the  utmost 
efforts   and   his   insistence  upon   the  highest   ideals   of  purity   in   athletics 


often  provoked  severe  criticism  and  frequently  aroused  pronounced 
antagonism  but  have  since  been  universally  acknowledged  to  have  been 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  University,  its  athletics,  and  sports  at  large. 
The  alumni,  as  a  body,  knew  that  for  every  act  there  was  good  and  com- 
pelling reason  that  would  stand  the  most  severe  criticism. 

He  was  the  chief  artizan  of  the  scheme,  even  if  he  was  not  the 
originator  of  the  idea,  of  the  Alumni  Advisory  Council,  which,  when  it 
reaches  the  full  development  he  planned  for  it,  will  be  a  paramount 
instrumentality  in  connecting  the  alumni  to  the  University.  During  the 
French  Revolution  it  was  the  custom  of  the  French  Assembly  to  resolve, 
whenever  a  man  had  been  of  exceptional  service,  that  he  "deserved  well 
of  his  country."  As  long  as  the  Advisory  Council  continues,  the  name 
of  Ralph  Jones  will  occupy  a  prominent  position  among  the  names  of 
those  who  deserve  well  of  the  University  of  Maine. 

It  is,  however,  his  work  in  cementing  the  bonds  that  tie  the  alumni 
to  the  University  that  makes  the  strongest  appeal  for  recognition.  Most 
of  us  are  too  apt  to  think  his  work  along  this  line  began  only  when  he 
became  officially  connected  with  the  University  but  it  far  antedated 
that  event.  Practically  every  moment  he  could  wrest  from  business 
since  his  graduation  has  been  devoted  to  work  connected  with  the  in- 
terests of  "Maine." 

Prior  to  his  election  as  Alumni  Secretary,  or  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary of  the  Alumni  Association  as  it  was  then  called,  there  had  never 
been  any  thoroughly  systematic  effort  to  ascertain  the  location  of  alumni 
or  former  students  or  to  draw  them  back  to  the  University.  It  is  true 
that  spasmodic  attempts  were  made  but  they  had  not  been  carried  through 
or  followed  up.  If  a  man  did  not  reply  to  the  first  circular  sent  out, 
that  ended  it.  But  under  his  regime  no  labor  was  too  great  if  it  only 
gave  the  least  promise  of  attaining  the  result  and  when  the  missing  man 
was  located,  great  was  the  rejoicing.  It  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Jones 
that  when  the  work  was  extended  to  non-graduate  former  students  as 
well  as  alumni  and  the  whole  list  completed,  he  lamented  long  and  loud 
because  there  were  about  four  percent,  who  were  untraceable.  Most 
men  would  have  exulted  over  the  fact  that  ninety-six  percent,  of  the  men 
who  had  been  away  from  "Maine"  for  an  average  of  more  than  twenty 
years  and  probably  had  not  been  heard  from  for  half  that  length  of 
time,  had  been  definitely  placed  but  his  thoroughness  would  not  allow 
him  to  overlook  that  missing  four  percent. 

No  one,  who  has  not  attempted  to  fill  such  an  office,  can  realize  the 
exasperating  and  oftentimes  sadly  disappointing  work  he  performed  in 
locating,  keeping  track  of,  and  sometimes  bringing  back  men  who  did  not 
feel  themselves  bound  to  the  institution  by  any  particularly  strong  ties. 
It  was  a  work  for  which  he  was  especially  adapted,  into  which  he  entered 
with  great  zest,  and  one  that  fascinated  him  to  the  very  last. 

While  it  might  be  an  exaggeration  to  claim  that  he  was  the  creator 
of  the  relations  now  existing  between  the  alumni  and  the  University, 
it  is  undeniable  that  for  them  we  are  indebted  to  him  more  than  to  any 


one  man,  and  that  when  he  commenced  the  work  it  was  a  most  for- 
midable task,  with  a  mass  of  most  unpromising  material.  He  would 
have  been  the  last  to  claim  it,  and  would  have  never  acknowledged  it, 
but  his  labors  were  so  successful  that  his  name  will  live  among  the 
alumni  of  "Maine"  as  long  as  any  of  the  present  generations  survive. 

Next  to  his  love  for  "Maine"  came  his  loyalty  to  his  fraternity,  in 
the  national  organization  of  which  his  ability  was  speedily  recognized, 
he  having  been  District  Chief,  Assistant  Alumni  Secretary,  and  one  of 
the  editors  of  its  catalog.  He  was  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
highest  authorities  in  the  country  on  college  fraternities  and  his  opinions 
were  often  sought  outside  his  own  ranks.  Strong  as  was  his  affection, 
it  was  no  narrow  partizanship.  He  gloried  in  the  achievements  of  the 
other  fraternities  and  his  advice  and  labor  were  at  their  disposal  when- 
ever desired.  More  than  one  chapter  at  "Maine"  owes  its  establishment 
and  existence  to  his  advice  and  efforts. 

I  became  acquainted  with  him  during  his  first  term  in  college  and 
the  intimacy  then  began  continued,  with  frequent  meetings  and  incessant 
correspondence,  until  terminated  by  his  last  illness.  As  was  inevitable 
with  two  such  positive  natures,  there  were  frequent  disagreements  and 
unavoidable  clashes,  but  never,  during  that  more  than  thirty  years,  was 
there  a  single  act  of  his  to  cast  a  cloud  over  the  friendship.  And  so,  in 
addition  to  the  official  misfortune,  the  loss  to  the  University,  there  is  to 
me  a  crushing  personal  bereavement  which  is  only  mitigated  by  the  cer- 
tainty that  it  is  shared  by  countless  numbers  of  the  alumni.  Never  again 
to  be  welcomed  by  the  cordial  grasp  of  that  hand;  never  again  to  enjoy 
the  sly  jibe;  never  again  to  receive  the  merry  jest;  never  again  to  hear 
that  subdued  chuckle;  never  again  to  be  able  to  call  for  the  much  needed 
information  that  was  always  instantly  forthcoming;  never  again  to  see 
what  Dean  Walz  called  his  sardonic  grin  and  Mephistophelean  wink. 
Therefore  I  am  here  to  pay,  more  by  my  presence  than  these  few  halting 
words,  a  ridiculously  inadequate  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Ralph  Knee- 
land  Jones.  I  am  here  as  a  trustee  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  con- 
scientious professor;  as  an  alumnus  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  fellow 
graduate  who  lost  no  opportunity  to  advance  the  cause  of  alma  mater  ; 
as  a  Beta  to  honor  the  memory  of  one  who  was  a  brother  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  word ;  as  a  man  to  honor  the  memory  of  one  of  the  best  and 
truest  friends  by  whom  God  ever  blessed  mortal  man. 

While  memory  bids  me  weep  thee, 

Nor  thoughts  nor  words  are  free ; 
The  grief  is  fixed  too  deeply 

That  mourns  a  friend  like  thee. 


RALPH  K.  JONES  AS  LIBRARIAN 

BY 

Charles  A.  Flagg,  Librarian,   Bangor  Public  Library 


At  a  period  when  the  value  of  library  service  is  becoming  recognized 
in  the  general  scheme  of  modern  education,  it  has  been  Maine's  mis- 
fortune to  lose  two  of  her  notable  librarians :  George  T.  Little  of 
Bowdoin  and  Ralph  K.  Jones  of  the  University  of  Maine :  leaders  in  the 
profession  in  our  state,  neither  one  professionally  trained  but  turning  to 
librarianship  in  mature  years  from  other  callings,  with  gifts  quite  di- 
verse but  each  beginning  in  the  day  of  small  things  and  developing  his 
librar\r  to  a  high  standard  of  usefulness. 


Mr.  Jones'  devotion  to  his  alma  mater  needs  no  mention  here ;  we 
may  be  sure  that  he  welcomed  a  return  to  Orono  in  1897  at  the  age  of 
31,  after  a  business  career  in  other  sections  of  the  country.  A  breadth 
of  view  had  been  acquired  as  well  as  practical  training  in  a  sphere  where 
the  librarian  is  all  too  likely  to  be  weak. 

And  the  opportunity  was  one  that  might  well  appeal  to  any  man : 
the  old  Maine  State  College  wTas  just  expanding  into  the  University  of 
Maine  under  leaders  of  rare  strength  and  enthusiasm ;  the  place  of  the 
library  in  college  work  was  becoming  appreciated.  p  I  well  recall  a  visit 
made  about  that  time  to  Columbia  University  in  its  magnificent  new 
home  on  Morningside  Heights  in  New  York  City,  and  the  pride  of  the 
librarian  as  he  called  attention  to  the  superb  quadrangle  of  buildings 
with  the  Library  in  the  centre,  architecturally  the  crown  of  the  whole, 
typifying  its  relation  to  the  various  schools  and  departments  of  the 
University — the  true  nucleus  of  all  and  the  laboratory  of  philosophic, 
historic,  literary,  language,  and  to  some  extent  sociologic  courses.  We 
remember  how  in  1899  the  same  Columbia  University  Library  could 
summon  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  the  country  in  his  prime,  Dr. 
James  H.  Canfield,  former  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Nebraska 
and  then  president  of  Ohio  State  University;  and  that  he  counted  it 
the  great  opportunity  of  his  life  to  accept  and  to  serve  Columbia  as  its 
librarian  till  his  death. 

Probably  few  libraries  such  as  this  one  would  today  think  of  calling 
a  man  without  training  or  previous  experience,  but  it  was  common  in 
that  period,  as  witness  Little  of  Bowdoin,  Canfield  of  Columbia,  not  to 
mention  Winsor  of  Boston  Public  Library,  Putnam  of  Minneapolis, 
(now  of  the  Library  of  Congress)   and  countless  others. 


And  thus  Ralph  Jones  came  back  to  Orono  with  only  such  library 
science  as  might  be  picked  up  in  a  brief  course  at  the  Amherst  College 
summer   school   for   librarians,   but   with   ripened   mind,  broad   experience 


with  men,  and  some  conception  of  the  magnitude  and  opportunities  of 
the  work  before  him. 

He  found  a  collection  of  approximately  1,500  volumes  housed  in  the 
old  Coburn  Hall,  open  eight  hours  daily  except  Sunday,  with  no  staff 
except   himself. 

To  glance  first  at  the  more  material  aspects  of  his  accomplishment 
in  these  20  years,  he  saw  the  Library  grow  to  over  58,000 ;  obtained  its 
designation  as  a  depository  for  U.  S.  government  documents,  replaced 
the  classed  catalogue  he  inherited  which  was  suitable  for  scholars  and 
specialists,  by  a  dictionary  catalogue  of  the  modern  popular  variety ; 
moved  the  library  in  1906  into  the  new  Carnegie  building,  increased  his 
staff  up  to  the  present  size  of  3  assistants  in  1910,  abandoned  the  noon 
closing  plan,  extending  the  day  from  8  to  12  hours,  introduced  Sunday 
afternoon  opening,  and  brought  the  average  annual  additions  from  1,500 
to  between  two  and  three  thousand  per  year. 

That  bugbear  of  university  librarians,  the  departmental  library, 
seems  to  have  occasioned  him  little  trouble,  a  compromise  plan  being 
adopted  which  meets  general  satisfaction. 

This  progress  was  made  through  steady,  uphill  work;  good  luck 
did  not  enter  in.  Aside  from  the  Carnegie  gift,  the  Library  has  had  few 
benefactions,  the  notable  ones  being  the  horticultural  library  of  Professor 
Munson  and  the  loans  of  collections  belonging  to  the  family- of  Professor 
Estabrooke  and  President  Aley. 

Whatever  of  good  or  ill  was  wrought  in  his  day,  the  responsibility 
was  his,  for  not  only  was  he  librarian  for  20  years,  but  for  the  greater 
part  of  that  period  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Faculty  committee  on 
the  Library. 

But  let  us  not  lay  too  much  stress  on  mere  statistics.  The  elements 
in  life  most  worth  while  are  not  expressed  in  figures. 

Perhaps  it  is  more  true  of  librarianship  than  of  almost  any  other 
profession  that  it  offers  meagre  prospect  to  any  ambition  other  than 
that  of  serving  humanity.  No  librarian  was  ever  yet  a  great  leader  of 
men,  or  scarcely  even  a  leader  of  thought  in  any  large  sense ;  his  salary 
is  uniformly  small. 

There  are  however,  standards  by  which  a  librarian's  qualifications 
may  be  measured,  though  the  following  bear  no  greater  weight  than  the 
present  speaker's  opinion.  Probably  no  other  librarian  would  state  them 
in  just  the  same  way  or  in  the  same  order. 

1.  General    information.     We    believe    that    a    librarian    should    have    at 

least  the  equivalent  of  a  good  college  education,  though  by  no 
means  insisting  that  it  be  acquired  in  the  four  years'  course  lead- 
ing to  a  degree. 

2.  Vision.     This   implies   not   merely  an   ultimate   ideal   as   goal   but  due 

conception  of  the  relations  of  one's  work  with  the  larger  scheme 
of  things  and  its  points  of  contact  therewith  . 

3.  Energy. 


4.  Practical    common    sense.     The    last-named    qualities    are    neutralized 

unless  there  is  a  balance  wheel.  One's  aims  must  be  subject  to 
revision ;  there  are  handicaps  and  obstacles  to  be  overcome ;  and 
the  views  and  peculiarities  of  others  need  consideration. 

5.  Administrative   ability.     In   proportion   as   one's   staff   increases  there 

is  required  the  power  to  get  things  done,  otherwise  all  the  pre- 
viously-mentioned  traits    accomplish   nothing. 

6.  Knowledge  of  library  science  and  bibliography.     It  is  easy  to  over- 

value this,  and  professional  schools  are  sure  to  do  so.  The  wide- 
awake librarian  acquires  it  readily  and  naturally.  Too  many 
members  of  the  profession  seem  to  forget  that  it  is  the  means  and 
not  the  end. 

7.  Extensive   familiarity    with    literature.     This    of    course    is    quite    dif- 

ferent from  my  first  point  and  I  place  it  last,  but  with  no  wish  to 
belittle  it.  To  be  well-read  and  an  omnivorous  reader  used  to 
be  the  first  qualification  of  a  librarian  in  the  days  when  literature 
covered  scarcely  more  than  belles-lettres,  history,  and  theology, 
before  the  vast  expansion  of  sociology,  the  sciences,  and  technology. 
We  may  recall  with  regret  the  scholarly  literary  atmosphere  of  the 
older  libraries,  where  everyone  had  plenty  of  time  and  the  librarian 
could  discourse  on  Dante  or  Browning  at  length.  But  our  librarian 
today  comes  into  too  many  relations  with  the  busy  world  to  remain 
shut  up  in  his  atmosphere  of  books.  He  doesn't  expect  to  be  an 
encyclopedia  himself,  but  must  learn  to  scan  books  hastily  and 
know  where  to  go  for  definite  information. 


Now  how  does  our  friend  measure  up  to  such  standards  as  these? 
We  should  not  think  of  him  as  a  man  of  notable  erudition  or  of  particu- 
larly wide  general  reading  or  as  one  devoted  to  hobbies.  His  library 
was  systematic  and  administered  on  generally  good  and  conservative 
lines  as  one  would  expect  of  a  nature  so  direct,  positive,  and  thorough. 
The  atmosphere  was  distinctly  favorable  to  work ;  tradition  says  that 
the  noisy  element  among  the  students  quickly  found  out  who  was  master 
in  the  building.  He  was  too  busy  to  waste  his  time  on  the  trifles  that 
appeal  to  some  workers  in  libraries ;  while  methods  and  appliances  were 
standard,  one  would  never  call  at  his  office  to  discover  the  latest  thing 
in  ink-wells,  paper  clips,  and  filing  devices. 

No  estimate  of  him  would  have  value  which  failed  to  note  his  ten- 
acity of  opinion.  He  was  not  accustomed  to  soften  this  in  the  interests 
of  general  popularity  or  of  friendly  personal  intercourse,  once  his  mind 
was  made  up.  And  yet  there  was  apparently  no  tendency  to  snap  judg- 
ment ;  he  was  not  hasty  in  forming  an  opinion  and  was  ready  with  strong 
logical  justification  when  the  time  came.  In  statement  he  was  clear, 
direct,  and  strong,  with  language  vigorous  and  well  chosen. 

The  more  one  studies  the  work  of  Ralph  Jones  as  librarian  the 
greater  is  the  wonder  that  he  accomplished  so  much  with  the  means  at  his 
disposal :    a   library   income   covering   everything  but   salaries,   that   never 


IO 


exceeded  $5,000  and  starting  with  an  average  of  about  $1,500  a  year  rose 
to  a  general  level  of  $3,000  a  year  for  the  last  part  of  his  librarianship. 
This  seems  pitifully  small  for  a  faculty  that  grew  past  160  and  a  student 
body  of  above  1200.  After  the  deduction  necessary  for  supplies,  fittings, 
postage,  etc.  this  left  barely  two  dollars  per  capita,  per  annum,  for  books 
for  the  library's  patrons. 

Of  course  this  was  beyond  his  control  but  we  may  be  sure  he  chafed 
under  such  limitations.  His  it  was  to  make  the  best  use  of  his  income, 
and  this  was  a  test  indeed.  With  eyes  on  the  future  and  the  real  pur- 
pose of  the  Library,  he  dared  spend  a  continually  increasing  part  of 
this  income  (finally  reaching  a  full  half)  on  periodicals,  current  serials 
and  standard  sets. 

This  was  not  the  easy  or  the  showy  way  to  build  up  a  collection — 
it  requires  the  lapse  of  years  to  show  its  wisdom.  It  filled  the  shelves 
with  material  that  grows  more  valuable  every  year,  instead  of  works 
that  would  be  outgrown  and  superseded  within  a  decade. 

Another  manifestation  of  his  attitude  toward  the  work  was  the  offer 
of  a  course  in  bibliography  of  one  hour  a  week,  elective  in  the  spring 
semester,  beginning  in  1905  and  continuing  through  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
He  also  cooperated  with  the  English  department  for  two  or  three  years 
in  a  library  course  and  at  another  period  gave  a  series  of  lectures  to 
Freshmen  on  the  Library  and  how  to  use  it. 


There  remains  an  aspect  of  his  professional  labors  which  is  broader 
than  his  relation  to  the  University. 

Maine  as  a  state,  while  high  in  average  intelligence  and  devotion 
to  public  education,  has  been  notably  backward  in  library  development. 
This  is  by  no  means  discreditable,  being  due  to  the  low  average  density 
of  population  and  absence  of  large  centres. 

One  might  say  that  there  was  no  very  direct  reason  why  Professor 
Jones  should  interest  himself  in  library  matters  in  the  state  at  large.  That 
he  did  so  is  proof  of  his  grasp  of  the  true  significance  of  the  library's 
place  in  the  modern  world  and  of  the  mission  of  a  state  university  as 
the  real  centre  of  public  education. 

We  find  him  prominent  almost  from  the  first  in  the  Library  section 
of  the  Maine  Teachers'  Association  and  in  the  Maine  Library  Associa- 
tion. Indeed  it  is  believed  that  largely  through  his  instrumentality  the 
latter  body  awoke  in  1901  after  years  of  slumber,  and  the  Eastern  Maine 
Library  Club,  formed  that  year,  certainly  looked  to  him  as  an  active 
organizer. 

He  served  the  Maine  Library  Association  as  its  president  1903-1905 
and  as  secretary  1914-1915.  The  circumstances  of  his  election  to  the 
latter  office  are  illustrative.  I  had  come  to  the  state  the  previous  year  and 
some  members  of  the  Association  desiring  to  honor  a  newcomer,  men- 
tioned my  name  for  presiding  officer.  As  I  rose  to  decline  for  various 
reasons,  notably  that  I  knew  too  few  librarians  in  Maine  to  preside  at 
their  meeting,  Mr.  Jones  at  once  offered  to  serve  as  secretary  if  desired 


II 


and  make  up  for  my  deficiency  in  that  respect.  The  ticket  was  elected. 
Now  the  secretaryship  is  the  working  office  and  those  who  have  served 
as  president  usually  are  very  willing  to  pass  it  on  to  the  younger  members. 
Let  me  add  that  that  was  a  busy  year,  the  secretary  starting  and  carry- 
ing through  the  most  pretentious  publication  the  Association  has  ever 
issued,  a  Handbook,  covering  all  the  libraries  in  the  state,  all  informa- 
tion being  gathered  by  correspondence. 

An  examination  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Association  shows  him 
working  toward  definite  ends  ;  reading  papers  on  "The  relation  of  college 
and  public  libraries,"  "The  college  library  and  the  teacher,"  "The  value 
of  summer  library  schools,"  "What  college  libraries  are  doing  and  what 
they  may  do  for  other  libraries  and  for  the  public."  We  find  him  con- 
tending strongly  for  the  improvement  of  school  libraries  and  introducing 
resolutions  looking  to  that  end,  a  movement  that  has  borne  fruit  within 
the  last  two  or  three  years.  He  was  a  pleader  for  instruction  in  library 
science  in  our  normal  schools,  a  measure  the  present  Library  Commission 
is  now  doing  its  best  to  promote.  In  1902  he  introduced  a  resolution 
calling  for  a  much  needed  index  of  state  documents. 

His  position  on  another  kind  of  modern  library  service,  in  the 
interests  especially  of  the  college  and  reference  libraries,  led  to  his 
selection  in  1902  as  chairman  of  a  committee  on  a  union  list  of  serials 
for  Maine.  The  death  of  his  two  associates,  Mr.  Hall  of  Colby  and  Miss 
Woodman  of  Bates,  terminated  the  committee's  activities,  but  it  was 
revived  in  1915  when  he  was  empowered  to  name  his  associates.  Mr. 
Wilder  of  Bowdoin  and  myself  were  selected,  and  my  last  interviews 
with  him  were  on  this  matter  which  was  very  near  his  heart.  He  saw  the 
preliminaries  arranged,  and  the  work  is  going  on  today  as  he  planned. 


The  narrator  can  weave  no  interesting  or  dramatic  story  about  such 
a  life  as  this.  There  is  wanting  the  transcendant  genius,  the  picturesque 
personality,  the  grand  sphere  of  action  ;  we  lack  the  great  crisis  in  human 
affairs  and  the  element  of  chance  or  of  Providence,  if  we  choose  to  so 
designate  it — all  the  setting  in  fact  that  makes  biography  popular. 

It  is  well  to  study  the  great  lives,  Hannibal,  Napoleon,  Lincoln.  But 
it  may  be  there  are  lessons  fully  as  important,  if  not  so  inspiring  in  the 
career  of  such  a  man  as  we  have  considered  here.  Most  of  us  are  ordi- 
nary men  and  women,  and  the  bulk  of  the  world's  work  is  actually  done 
by  men  who  bring  to  the  task  just  such  strong  and  substantial  qualifies 
as  were  possessed  by  Professor  Jones. 


12 


PROFESSOR  A.  P.  RAGGIO 

BY 

George  D.  Chase,  Professor  of  Latin 

The  fall  of  a  strong  man  stricken  down  at  the  height  of  his  physical 
and  intellectual  powers  and  in  the  full  career  of  his  achievement  demands 
even  of  the  chance  wayfarer,  the  passing  tribute  of  a  tear.  For  us  it 
is  meet  that  we  should  pause  in  our  day's  task  to  pay  some  fuller  mead 
of  appreciation  to  one  who  had  long  been  our  fellow  laborer,  who  as  a 
faithful  servant  gave  his  strength  and  his  talents  full-heartedly  to  the 
interest  of  our  University,  who  while  strenuously  sowing  good  seed  in 
our  midst  was  himself  harvested  by  the  Great  Reaper. 

Andrew  Paul  Raggio,  Professor  of  Spanish  and  Italian,  was  born 
forty-four  years  ago  in  the  city  of  Austin,  Texas.  His  parents  had  come 
from  Northern  Italy,  from  the  hill  country  back  of  Genoa,  and  like 
many  of  their  fellow  countrymen,  had  settled  in  the  south,  first  in  New 
Orleans,  whence  in  course  of  time  they  removed  to  the  new  State  of 
Texas.  They  were  devout  Roman  Catholics,  and  Professor  Raggio  owed 
his  early  education  to  the  institutions  of  the  church.  Thus  from  his 
boyhood  associations  while  reared  in  newest  America,  he  was  linked  with 
the  traditions  of  the  old  world.  His  reserved  dignity  of  manner  and  his 
courtly  courtesy  marked  him  outwardly  as  a  foreigner  and  it  was  still 
more  evident  to  those  who  knew  him  intimately  that  he  had  not  been 
moulded  in  the  social  and  ethical  schools  of  New  England. 

President  Eliot  of  Harvard  once  said  of  Professor  Shaler  that  he 
valued  him  especially  as  a  member  of  his  faculty  because  he  came  from  a 
different  section  of  the  country  from  most  of  his  colleagues  and  saw 
many  questions  from  different  points  of  view.  In  like  manner  it  might 
be  said  of  Professor  Raggio  that  he  made  a  distinct  contribution  to  a 
New  England  college  faculty  by  reason  of  his  unique  prospective. 

Professor  Raggio  possessed  a  rare  equipment  for  his  work.  Fol- 
lowing his  graduation  from  the  University  of  Texas  in  1896,  he  spent 
five  years  of  travel  and  study  in  Europe, — three  years  in  Italy,  one  year 
at  the  University  of  Grenoble  in  France,  and  one  year  in  Spain.  Re- 
turning to  America  he  was  for  three  years  enrolled  as  a  graduate  student 
at  Harvard  University,  where  he  received  his  doctorate  in  Romance 
Languages  in  1904.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  or  to  imagine  a  more 
ideal  preparation  for  a  professorship  of  Romance  Languages.  He  had 
acquired  an  intimate  and  sympathetic  appreciation  of  Spanish.  Italian,  and 
French  literatures  and  first  hand  knowledge  of  the  peoples  and  countries 
of  Southwest  Europe.  He  had  become  well  versed  in  European  history. 
He  had  received  sound  university  discipline  in  the  several  phases  of 
technical  philological  study.  He  had  worked  in  the  school  of  Passy,  the 
great  phonetician  of  France,  and  rightly  conceived  of  phonetics  as  the 
basis  of  language  study.  He  was  well  grounded  in  the  historical  and  com- 
parative grammar  of  the  Romance  Languages.  He  thought  of  literature 
as  an  art  to  be  interpreted  by  comparative  study.     In  the  interpretation 


of  literature  he  was  guided  by  the  Italian's  fondness  for  poetry,  music, 
and  the  drama. 

I  remember  Professor  Raggio  chanced  to  call  at  my  house  one 
evening  when  I  was  engaged  with  a  friend  in  trying  to  fathom  a  some- 
what obscure  canto  of  Dante's  Inferno.  We  had  been  laboriously 
puzzling  out  the  difficulties  of  the  passage  with  the  help  of  the  notes  of 
several  Italian  scholars.  We  referred  the  passage  to  Professor  Raggio 
who  immediately  read  it  to  us  with  a  warmth  of  feeling  and  power  of 
interpretation  which  threw  a  flood  of  light  upon  Dante's  meaning.  My 
friend  had  known  Professor  Raggio  but  casually  and  was  fairly  sur- 
prised to  discover  in  him  such  mastery  and  appreciation  of  Dante  as  well 
as  gift  of  interpretation.  There  was  suddenly  disclosed  to  us  the  soul 
of  the  inspired  teacher. 

Professor  Raggio  came  to  the  University  of  Maine  in  1907,  having 
served  an  instructor's  apprenticeship  at  Simmons  College,  Bryn  Mawr 
College,  and  the  St.  Louis  Central  High  School.  From  Instructor  in 
Romance  Languages,  he  became  Assistant  Professor  in  1907,  and  Associ- 
ate Professor  in  1911.  In  1916  the  new  department  of  Spanish  and  Italian 
was  created  for  him  in  recognition  of  his  zeal  and  ability.  Perhaps  no 
quality  was  more  characteristic  of  Professor  Raggio  than  his  intense 
earnestness.  It  was  with  earnestness  that  he  assumed  his  new  position. 
The  growth  of  the  new  department  was  marvelous.  He  had  planned  to 
conduct  all  the  classes  unaided,  but  before  the  first  year  was  out  he 
needed  the  services  of  two  instructors,  and  even  then  was  obliged  to 
curtail  the  work  offered  in  Italian. 

The  relative  merits  of  native  and  American  teachers  of  living  lan- 
guages has  often  been  discussed.  He  combined  in  a  wonderful  degree 
the  advantages  of  both.  He  spoke  both  Spanish  and  Italian  with  the 
fluency  and  accuracy  of  a  native  and  at  the  same  time  had  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  American  birth  and  university  training. 

Without  doubt  the  teacher's  real  triumphs  are  in  the  class  room ; 
but  they  are  often  secret  triumphs,  they  are  not  heralded  abroad,  they 
are  often  little  known  or  appreciated  by  the  teacher's  colleagues.  I  have 
heard  the  opinion  expressed  by  university  men  of  experience  that  one 
should  husband  his  energies  in  his  teaching,  because  he  derives  no  recog- 
nition or  preferment  from  that  -source.  The  labor  of  a  teacher  is  largely 
a  matter  of  conscience.  To  his  classes  Professor  Raggio  was  most  con- 
scientious. Painstaking  in  the  extreme,  methodical  in  every  detail,  he 
had  carefully  reasoned  out  his  system  of  imparting  instruction.  His 
endless  patience  and  regard  for  the  minutia  of  scholarship  might 
have  descended  to  pedantry  in  a  less  inspired  teacher,  but  with  him  a 
boundless  enthusiasm  for  his  profession  and  for  the  subject  matter 
which  he  taught  raised  his  work  high  above  the  trivial  and  the  common- 
place. I  have  heard  his  instruction  praised  in  the  highest  terms,  espec- 
ially by  those  who  had  themselves  had  some  experience  in  imparting 
knowledge. 

His  sense  of  fairness  and  his  desire  to  be  just  toward  those  under 
his    direction    were    everywhere    manifest.      He   made    and    preserved    the 


14 


most  complete  records  of  all  his  students,  so  that  they  never  passed 
beyond  his  interest  when  they  passed  out  of  his  control. 

Professor  Raggio  understood  the  wider  obligations  of  the  scholar. 
In  addition  to  membership  in  the  usual  learned  societies,  such  as  the 
Modern  Language  Association  of  America,  the  New  England  Modern 
Language  Association,  the  American  Dialect  Society,  Association  Pho- 
netique  Internationale,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
Italo-American  Alliance.  He  was  the  first  member  from  the  State  of 
Maine  of  the  Advisory  Council  of  the  Simplified  Spelling  Board,  and 
was  active  and  instrumental  in  furthering  the  introduction  of  simplified 
spelling  in  educational  institutions  of  the  State.  He  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Bangor  group  of  the  Alliance  Franchise,  and  was  re-elected 
to  the  presidency  for  the  second  time.  Under  his  leadership  the  group 
prospered,  and  the  best  elements  of  Bangor  and  vicinity  were  united  in 
an  enthusiastic  support  of  the  Alliance. 

He  was  an  active  member  in  the  American  Association  of  University 
Professors,  and  was  instrumental  in  organizing  at  the  University  of 
Maine  a  local  branch  of  which  he  was  the  first  chairman. 

His  participation  in  all  these  activities  was  characterized  by  the 
greatest  earnestness.  He  thought  deeply  on  many  current  questions  of 
scholarship,  of  university  government,  and  of  public  affairs. 

And  in  all  his  thinking  he  was  always  seeking  for  the  right  principle. 
He  was  distinctly  a  man  of  ideals.  It  was  always  ideals  and  not 
individuals  that  moved  him  most.  In  ten  years  of  intimate  acquaintance 
I  do  not  recall  the  utterance  of  one  harsh  or  uncharitable  judgment  of 
any  person.  Many  an  epitaph  has  recorded  lesser  merits.  His  was  a 
nature  that  knew  no  resentment.  I  remember  on  one  occasion  when 
I  was  loudly  joining  in  the  common  denunciation  of  one  who  had 
committed  a  grievous  crime  and  was  languishing  in  prison,  I  was  amazed 
to  hear  Professor  Raggio  say,  "That  man  suffers ;  I  think  I  shall  visit 
him."     I  was  amazed  and  humbled. 

Professor  Raggio  was  a  deeply  religious  man.  In  his  student  days 
he  had  broken  away  from  the  dogma  of  the  church  and  had  sought  a 
rational  basis  for  his  faith.  In  the  frankness  of  his  nature  and  his  fear 
of  being  misunderstood,  he  had  demoninated  himself  an  agnostic.  Some 
said  he  was  an  atheist ;  nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  He 
had  used  the  term  agnostic  strictly  in  the  Platonic  sense,  meaning  one 
who  denies  the  absolute  philosophical  proof  to  the  finite  human  mind 
of  so  transcendental  a  truth  as  God's  existence,  but  who  assumes  it  as  a 
working  hypothesis,  regarding  it  as  the  most  probable  of  all  assumptions. 
Professor  Raggio  summed  up  his  theology  in  these  terms,  "I  am  an 
optimist;  I  hope  God  exists,  and  if  He  does  He  knows  and  will  reward 
my  sincerity." 

It  is  in  vain  that  we  regret  the  loss  of  a  human  life  seemingly  cut 
off  before  its  time.  We  miss  the  later  years  of  riper  achievement  But 
we  possess  a  work  well  begun ;  we  possess  an  example  of  faithfulness, 
of  conscientiousness,  of  energy  in  the  performance  of  duty,  of  intellectual 
breadth  and  integrity,  of  honesty  of  purpose,  and  frankness  of  position  ; 
we  possess  an  example  of  charity  toward  others,  of  spiritual  depth,  and 
earnestness  that  can  never  be  lost. 

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